Third class set to be inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame

Autoracing Betting Lines

01/19/2012 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five new members will be enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday. Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Richie Evans, Dale Inman and Glen Wood make up the 2012 class. They were voted into the NASCAR HofF last June.

The inaugural class -- Bill France Sr., Richard Petty, Bill France Jr., Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson -- were inducted when the NASCAR HofF opened in May 2010. Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, David Pearson and Lee Petty made up the Hall's second class last year.

Friday's induction ceremony will take place at the Charlotte Convention Center [7:30 p.m. (et)].

Yarborough became the first driver to win three consecutive championships in NASCAR's premier series (now known as the Sprint Cup Series). His string of titles from 1976-78 was unmatched until 2008 when Jimmie Johnson claimed his third series championship in a row. Johnson won his fourth and fifth straight titles in 2009-10.

In a career that began in 1957 and concluded after the 1988 season, Yarborough notched 83 Cup wins, which currently ranks him sixth on the all-time race winners list. Four of his victories came in the Daytona 500.

Yarborough finished runner-up in the series championship in 1973 and '74 and again in 1980. After the '80 season, Yarborough, whose father was killed in a plane crash when he was 11, felt he needed to spend more time with his children and never again pursued a full-time driving schedule.

"I gave up a lot, but I gained a lot more," he noted in his 1986 autobiography "Cale."

Yarborough drove for Junior Johnson from 1974-80, but after Yarborough left Johnson's team, Waltrip took over his seat. Waltrip, nicknamed "Jaws" for his outspoken demeanor during his career, went on to win three Cup championships with Johnson.

"Cale gave me the best advice that anybody could give me, and that was that he was going to leave Junior's [team], and nobody even knew of it," Waltrip recalled. "He said, 'I'm telling you something that nobody knows, and Junior likes you, and he wants you to drive his car. You need to go talk to him.' That was the best advice that anybody ever gave me, because it led to a lot of wins and three championships."

Waltrip won his titles in 1981, '82 and '85. From 1977-87, he finished no worse than fifth in the point standings. Waltrip claimed his first Daytona 500 victory in 1989, driving for Rick Hendrick.

Since retiring at the end of the 2000 season, Waltrip has served as an analyst for FOX Sports and Speed television's coverage of NASCAR.

Evans is the first of the 15 inductees without a connection to NASCAR's top racing circuit. Nicknamed the "Rapid Roman" by virtue of racing out of Rome, NY, Evans niche in stock car racing came in the modifieds. He won nine NASCAR national modified championships over a 13-year span, including eight straight titles from 1978-85. He worked on his own cars -- as many as 100 hours per week -- and almost raced every night of the week.

"Working with the car and working on it in the garage every week is an advantage," Evans once said. "While I'm working on the car, I'm thinking about every lap I rode in that thing. It's not like the mechanic who stood and watched it during the feature and then has to make some decisions."

Evans was killed in an accident while practicing for a modified race at Martinsville Speedway in October 1985. Last week, the New York State Senate adopted a resolution honoring Evans' NASCAR HofF induction.

Inman will become the first crew chief inducted into the Hall. He served as a crew chief at Petty Enterprises for nearly three decades, setting records for most championships (eight) and wins (193). Inman guided his cousin, Richard Petty, to seven titles. He won a championship with Terry Labonte when Labonte drove for car owner Billy Hagan in 1984.

Unlike his cousin, Inman never had a desire to drive race cars.

"I just didn't see me tearing up somebody else's equipment," he said. "I was always pretty well content to work on the race cars and make them better."

Wood and his brothers, Leonard, Delano, Clay and Ray Lee, went from weekend racers to one of the most accomplished teams in NASCAR, with some of the sport's greatest names driving for them. Pearson and Yarborough, as well as Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett, A.J. Foyt, Tiny Lund and Marvin Panch drove for the Wood Brothers.

"I didn't come here alone; I had a lot of help," Wood said. "There's five of us brothers, and all of those have helped at one time or another. Leonard had been there all along for the whole 60-something years. Of course, we've had so many good drivers too. All of that led to where we are."

The Wood Brothers have won 98 Cup races, including five Daytona 500s, from 1950 to present. In just his second start with the team, Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 one day after turning 20 years old.

Lassseters Autoracing Betting News

<< Wales hires Coleman to replace Speed
Cardiff, Wales (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wales named Chris Coleman its new manager on Thursday, following the death of former coach Gary Speed in November. Coleman, 41, played 42 times for Wales from 1992-2002, and was a teammate with Speed for the

<< Bengals WR Simpson indicted on drug charge
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson was indicted Thursday on a drug charge stemming from an arrest in September. According to reports, police confiscated a package containing 2 1/2 pou

<< Sporting signs forward Peterson
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Kansas City signed forward Jacob Peterson on Thursday. Peterson, 25, has nine goals and 10 assists in 138 regular season matches in Major League Soccer. He was drafted by the Colorado Rapids

<< Beckham's return an important lifeline for MLS
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just under 4 1/2 years ago, David Beckham played under the "biggest raindrops I've ever seen," starting an experiment in front a sellout crowd of 46,686 in Washington, D.C., that could not fail, for the sake of MLS. In the

<< Plays for Conference Championship Sunday
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only two teams since the 2006 season have reached the Super Bowl by winning on the road in the conference championship round. One of those squads, the New York Giants, who pulled the road trick following

Inter's Forlan picks up new injury >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan forward Diego Forlan has suffered strained right hip flexor, and will be sidelined for an unknown period. The Uruguayan international joined Inter from Atletico Madrid last summer, but the 32-year

Valencia signs Argentine Banega to extension >>
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia has signed Argentine midfielder Ever Banega to a contract extension through June 2015. Banega, 23, joined Valencia in 2008 from Boca Juniors and has played 87 games with the Spanish side. Bane

Jacksonville State to play Arkansas, Florida >>
Jacksonville, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville State's Jack Crowe still keeps his ties to the SEC. The dean of Ohio Valley Conference head football coaches will lead his Gamecocks program into not one, but two games against SEC opponents i

Indians P Carmona arrested for double identity >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested Thursday in his native Dominican Republic on charges of double identity. Maximo Baez Aybar, a spokesman for the Dominican National Police, said through

Busch brothers sharing Nationwide driving duties at KBM >>
Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch Motorsports announced on Thursday that brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch will share driving duties in the No.54 Toyota during the 2012 Nationwide Series season. KBM is entering its first f

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting